Results 1 - 10
of
13
Cognitive and sensory declines in old age: Gauging the evidence for a common cause
- Psychology and Aging
, 2009
"... Resource accounts of behavioral aging postulate that age-associated impairments within and across intellectual and sensory domains reflect, in part, a common set of senescent alterations in the neuro-chemistry and neuroanatomy of the aging brain. Hence, these accounts predict sizeable correlations o ..."
Abstract
-
Cited by 21 (3 self)
- Add to MetaCart
Resource accounts of behavioral aging postulate that age-associated impairments within and across intellectual and sensory domains reflect, in part, a common set of senescent alterations in the neuro-chemistry and neuroanatomy of the aging brain. Hence, these accounts predict sizeable correlations of between-person differences in rates of decline, both within and across intellectual and sensory domains. The authors examined reliability-adjusted variances and covariances in longitudinal change for 8 cognitive measures and for close visual acuity, distant visual acuity, and hearing in 516 participants in the Berlin Aging Study (ages 70 to 103 years at 1st measurement). Up to 6 longitudinal measurements were distributed over up to 13 years. Individual differences in rates of cognitive decline were highly correlated, with a single factor accounting for 60 % of the variance in cognitive change. This amount increased to 65 % when controlling for age at first measurement, distance to death, and risk of dementia. Contrary to expectations, the correlations between cognitive and sensory declines were only moderate in size, underscoring the need to delineate both domain-general and function-specific mechanisms of behavioral senescence.
Withinperson trial-to-trial variability precedes and predicts cognitive decline in old and very old age: longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study
- Neuropsychologia
, 2007
"... Neurocomputational modeling and empirical evidence suggest that losses in neuronal signaling fidelity cause senescent changes in behavior. We applied structural equation modeling to five-occasion 13-year longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study (n = 447; age range at t1 = 70–102 years) to test ..."
Abstract
-
Cited by 17 (6 self)
- Add to MetaCart
(Show Context)
Neurocomputational modeling and empirical evidence suggest that losses in neuronal signaling fidelity cause senescent changes in behavior. We applied structural equation modeling to five-occasion 13-year longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study (n = 447; age range at t1 = 70–102 years) to test whether trial-to-trial reaction time variability in perceptual speed (identical pictures) antecedes and signals longitudinal decline in levels of performance on perceptual speed (digit letter and identical pictures) and ideational fluency (category fluency). Higher trial-to-trial variability preceded and predicted greater cognitive decline in perceptual speed and ideational fluency. We conclude that trial-to-trial variability signals impending decline in cognitive performance, and that theories of neurocognitive aging need to postulate developmental cascades between senescent changes in variability and central tendency. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Influence of age on practice effects in longitudinal neurocognitive change
- Neuropsychology
, 2010
"... Objective: Longitudinal comparisons of neurocognitive functioning often reveal stability or age-related increases in performance among adults under about 60 years of age. Because nearly monotonic declines with increasing age are typically evident in cross-sectional comparisons, there is a discrepanc ..."
Abstract
-
Cited by 12 (0 self)
- Add to MetaCart
(Show Context)
Objective: Longitudinal comparisons of neurocognitive functioning often reveal stability or age-related increases in performance among adults under about 60 years of age. Because nearly monotonic declines with increasing age are typically evident in cross-sectional comparisons, there is a discrepancy in the inferred age trends based on the two types of comparisons. The current research investigated the role of practice effects in longitudinal comparisons on the discrepancy. Method: Longitudinal data over an average interval of 2.5 years were available on five abilities (i.e., reasoning, spatial visualization, episodic memory, perceptual speed, vocabulary) in a sample of 1,616 adults ranging from 18 to over 80 years of age. Practice effects were estimated from comparisons of the performance of people of the same age tested for either the first or second time, after adjusting for the possibility of selective attrition. Results: Increased age was associated with significantly more negative longitudinal changes with each ability. All of the estimated practice effects were positive, but they varied in magnitude across neurocognitive abilities and as a function of age. After adjusting for practice effects the longitudinal changes were less positive at younger ages and slightly less negative at older ages. Conclusions: It was concluded that some, but not all, of the discrepancy between cross-sectional and longitudinal age trends in neurocog-nitive functioning is attributable to practice effects positively biasing the longitudinal trends. These results suggest that the neurobiological substrates of neurocognitive functioning may change across different periods in adulthood.
Well-being affects changes in perceptual speed in advanced old age: Longitudinal evidence for a dynamic link
- Developmental Psychology
, 2007
"... This study examined competing hypotheses about dynamic cross-domain associations between percep-tual speed and well-being in advanced old age. We applied the bivariate dual change score model (J. J. McArdle & F. Hamagami, 2001) to 13-year incomplete longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study ..."
Abstract
-
Cited by 10 (5 self)
- Add to MetaCart
This study examined competing hypotheses about dynamic cross-domain associations between percep-tual speed and well-being in advanced old age. We applied the bivariate dual change score model (J. J. McArdle & F. Hamagami, 2001) to 13-year incomplete longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study (P. B. Baltes & K. U. Mayer, 1999; N 516, 70–103 years at T1, M 85 years). Reports of well-being were found to influence subsequent decline in perceptual speed (time lags of 2 years). No evidence was found for a directed effect in the other direction. None of the potential covariates examined (initial health constraints, personality, and social participation) accounted for these differential lead–lag associations. Our results suggest that well-being is not only a consequence of but also a source for successful aging. The discussion focuses on conceptual implications and methodological considerations.
No protective effects of education during normal cognitive aging: Results from the 6-year follow-up of the Maastricht Aging Study
- Psychology and Aging
, 2008
"... Recent large-scale longitudinal aging studies question earlier claims that higher education protects against cognitive decline in older age. In the present study, the authors addressed this issue by determining whether educational level had an attenuating effect on the rate of cognitive change asses ..."
Abstract
-
Cited by 10 (0 self)
- Add to MetaCart
(Show Context)
Recent large-scale longitudinal aging studies question earlier claims that higher education protects against cognitive decline in older age. In the present study, the authors addressed this issue by determining whether educational level had an attenuating effect on the rate of cognitive change assessed with a broad range of neuropsychological tests in a community sample of 872 healthy individuals aged 49 to 81 years at baseline. The participants were followed for 6 years and were tested 3 times (at baseline and at 3 and 6 years after baseline). Results of linear mixed-model analyses showed that education had no significant effect on cognitive change over time. These results are discussed in terms of the age range of the sample, definition and range of education, cognitive measures used, length of the study and number of consecutive assessments, and confounding effect of health. The findings question the extent of the presumed protective effects of higher education on cognitive decline during normal aging.
Adult age trends in the relations among cognitive abilities," Psychology and aging (23:2
, 2008
"... Adult age (24 years to 91 years) was examined as a potential moderator of the relations among cognitive abilities in an aggregate dataset based on studies conducted at the Cognitive Aging Lab at the University of Virginia (N ϭ 2,227). A novel approach was applied by which the manifestations of late ..."
Abstract
-
Cited by 7 (0 self)
- Add to MetaCart
(Show Context)
Adult age (24 years to 91 years) was examined as a potential moderator of the relations among cognitive abilities in an aggregate dataset based on studies conducted at the Cognitive Aging Lab at the University of Virginia (N ϭ 2,227). A novel approach was applied by which the manifestations of latent ability factors were free to differ across age groups, and age trends in the interrelations among the factors were tested. Contrary to the dedifferentiation hypothesis, there was no evidence for systematic increases in the magnitudes of relations among cognitive abilities. Conventional analytic procedures replicated these findings.
URN: urn:nbn:ch:unige-4313 Available at:
"... Contrôle exécutif et réseaux neurofonctionnels au cours du vieillissement normal: un test de l'hypothèse de dé-différenciation cognitive CHICHERIO, Christian Ce travail examine l'hypothèse de dé-différentiation cognitive (ou augmentation des corrélations entre capacités cognitives avec l&a ..."
Abstract
- Add to MetaCart
Contrôle exécutif et réseaux neurofonctionnels au cours du vieillissement normal: un test de l'hypothèse de dé-différenciation cognitive CHICHERIO, Christian Ce travail examine l'hypothèse de dé-différentiation cognitive (ou augmentation des corrélations entre capacités cognitives avec l'âge) en transférant celle-ci au niveau de l'activité cérébrale et des associations qu'entretiennent les aires préfrontales avec d'autres structures. Les données comportementales mettent en évidence, du moins partiellement, une augmentation des corrélations chez les adultes âgés, entre performances de vitesse de traitement, inhibition, mémoire de travail et raisonnement. Les données cérébrales, obtenues lors de la réalisation d'épreuves de mémoire de travail, suggèrent que les âgés présentent une activité plus diffuse dans les aires préfrontales, mais aussi les régions plus postérieures (notamment occipitales). Ces changements d'activité impliquent en outre une modification des associations entre ces structures en faveur d'une compensation fonctionnelle. Nous suggérons que la dé-différentiation repose sur un besoin croissant de compensation avec l'âge, voire d'une majeure coopération entre des processus qui ont été plus indépendants durant l'adolescence [...] CHICHERIO, Christian. Contrôle exécutif et réseaux neurofonctionnels au cours du vieillissement normal: un test de l'hypothèse de dé-différenciation cognitive. Thèse de doctorat: Univ. Genève, 2006, no. FPSE 366
ACADEMIC LITERATURE REVIEW Healthy mind in healthy body? A review of sensorimotor –cognitive interdependencies in old age
, 2006
"... Abstract We review four broad lines of research on couplings between sensorimotor and cognitive aging, with an emphasis on methodological concerns. First, correla-tional cross-sectional and longitudinal data indicate increas-ing associations between sensorimotor and cognitive aspects of behavior wit ..."
Abstract
- Add to MetaCart
(Show Context)
Abstract We review four broad lines of research on couplings between sensorimotor and cognitive aging, with an emphasis on methodological concerns. First, correla-tional cross-sectional and longitudinal data indicate increas-ing associations between sensorimotor and cognitive aspects of behavior with advancing age. Second, older adults show greater performance decrements than young adults when sensorimotor and cognitive tasks or task components need to be performed concurrently rather than in isolation. Third, aerobic fitness interventions produce positive transfer effects on cognition that are particularly pronounced for tasks with high demands on attention and executive control. Fourth, neuroscience findings from animal models and humans have identified aging-sensitive structural and functional circuitries that support cognitive functions and are enhanced by higher levels of sensorimo-tor functioning. We conclude that sensorimotor and cognitive aging are causally related and functionally interdependent and that age-associated increments in cognitive resource demands of sensorimotor functioning are malleable by experience.
Relations in Old and Very Old Age 13-Year Data from the Berlin Aging Study
"... Abstract. We use a statistical model that combines longitudinal and survival analyses to estimate the influence of level and change in cognition on age at death in old and very old individuals. Data are from the Berlin Aging Study, in which an initial sample of 516 elderly individuals with an age ra ..."
Abstract
- Add to MetaCart
(Show Context)
Abstract. We use a statistical model that combines longitudinal and survival analyses to estimate the influence of level and change in cognition on age at death in old and very old individuals. Data are from the Berlin Aging Study, in which an initial sample of 516 elderly individuals with an age range of 70 to 103 years was assessed up to 11 times across a period of up to 13 years. Four cognitive ability domains were assessed by two variables each: perceptual speed (Digit Letter and Identical Pictures), episodic memory (Paired Associates and Memory for Text), fluency (Categories and Word Beginnings), and verbal knowledge (Vocabulary and Spot-a-Word). Longitudinal models on cognition controlled for dementia diagnosis and retest effects, while survival models on age at death controlled for age, sex, socioeconomic status, sensory and motor performance, and broad personality characteristics. Results indicate: (1) Individual differences in the level of and in the linear change in performance are present for all cognitive variables; (2) when analyzed independently of cognitive performance, all covariates, except broad personality factors, predict survival; (3) when cognitive performance is accounted for, age, sex, and motor performance do predict survival, while socioeconomic status and broad personality factors do not, and sensory performance does only at times; (4) when cognitive variables are analyzed independently of each other, both level and change in speed and fluency, as well as level in memory and knowledge predict survival; (5) when all cognitive variables are analyzed simultaneously using a two-stage procedure, none of them is significantly associated to survival. In agreement with others, our findings suggest that survival is related to
The Val/Met Polymorphism of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Gene Predicts Decline in Perceptual Speed in Older Adults
"... The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promotes activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, and contributes to learning and memory. We investigated whether a common Val66Met missense polymorphism (rs6265) of the BDNF gene is associated with individual differences in cognitive decline (marked by pe ..."
Abstract
- Add to MetaCart
(Show Context)
The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promotes activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, and contributes to learning and memory. We investigated whether a common Val66Met missense polymorphism (rs6265) of the BDNF gene is associated with individual differences in cognitive decline (marked by perceptual speed) in old age. A total of 376 participants of the Berlin Aging Study, with a mean age of 83.9 years at first occasion, were assessed longitudinally up to 11 times across more than 13 years on the Digit-Letter task. Met carriers (n 123, 34%) showed steeper linear decline than Val homozygotes (n 239, 66%); the corresponding contrast explained 2.20% of the variance in change in the entire sample, and 3.41 % after excluding individuals at risk for dementia. These effects were not moderated by sex or socioeconomic status. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that normal aging magnifies the effects of common genetic variation on cognitive functioning.